LITMIR.BIZ

      ON HIS WAY to the NLS the next morning, bleary-eyed after a sleepless night, Hadley still felt shaken by his encounter with Jenna. And then he was startled by a different kind of encounter. As he drove through town, he braked hard at the only stoplight in Barren, certain that the dark-haired guy walking along the opposite side of the street might be the lone remnant of the broken family he’d been born into. But it couldn’t be his brother, the one Hadley had betrayed. He hadn’t seen him in years. Not that Dallas would want to see Hadley.

      When he finally reached the ranch, the foreman was waiting at the barn, his eyes the color of flint.

      “You’re late,” Cooper Ransom said.

      Hadley recognized the hard tone of voice. He climbed out of his truck. Once he’d have been ready for a fight, but he couldn’t afford to lose his temper. He was a father now, and he and Cooper, who was married to the owner’s granddaughter, had already shared some nasty moments. Still, he had the other man to thank for Hadley moving in with Amy last spring. He would never regret Cooper’s advice to treat her more kindly. He hoped he’d given Amy a few happy moments—in between their quarrels—when she’d had so few of them left.

      Hadley’s mouth tightened. “My boy’s got his days and nights mixed up,” he told Cooper. “When he finally went to sleep, I crashed myself.” Clara hadn’t wakened him this morning. Either she’d thought he needed the rest, or she wasn’t speaking to him. After their talk the other night, she’d made it plain he was welcome in her home until the ranch sold, but how could she show the place with toys and stacks of diapers scattered everywhere? “I got here as soon as I could.”

      “I appreciate that. I know it’s hard to keep a schedule with two babies at once. But you left early yesterday. You were late once last week. Ranch work can’t wait for you to show up.”

      He’d expected a stern lecture, but… “I’m being fired?” Again? He’d lost his job as foreman to Cooper last year.

      The ranch owner, Ned, had always been good to Hadley and had rehired him, but as a ranch hand. Now he earned half of what he used to make as foreman.

      He thought again about Clara’s question. He’d give everything he had to run his own ranch, to be in full control of his life, but even buying a horse wasn’t possible right now. Amy’s outstanding hospital charges were eating him up, and the next payment was due. While he was glad her doctors had done everything humanly possible to save her, the ongoing expense was drowning Hadley. He needed this job.

      “Listen,” he said before Cooper could deliver the final blow. “I’m a hard worker. With calves being born every day here, you need me now,” Hadley insisted.

      Cooper said, “Sorry, I can’t keep you. But let me make some calls. Maybe one of the other outfits can take you on and give you more flexible hours.”

      “Don’t bother. I can find my own job,” he said, his jaw tense. Hadley hated the notion of people doing him a favor, because sooner or later they’d want to collect on the debt.

      Cooper shook his head, the sun glinting on his blond hair. “If that’s the way you want it.”

      The other man started toward the house, muttering something about writing Hadley a check, which was nothing new, either. Minutes from now, with the money in his wallet, Hadley would feel tempted to leave rubber on the pavement as he turned onto the road, just as he had last year. But this time he forced himself to cool down. He didn’t need a ticket for reckless driving from Finn Donovan, the sheriff. He had the babies to think of, not only himself. Responsibilities. It was just too bad the twins hadn’t picked a father who, at this moment, could meet those responsibilities. He could save face, though.

      “No, this isn’t the way I want it,” he called after Cooper, having made his decision. “Let’s pretend you didn’t let me go for staying up late with my baby. You don’t have to fire me,” he said, calling on the defiance that had helped him to survive any number of foster homes as a kid. “I quit.”

      Now, because of his stubborn pride, all he had to do was figure out how to feed the twins.